Gold-separator.



PATENTBD SEPT. 15. 1903.

I W. ySNHE.

GOLD SEPARATOR.

I 'PLIGATION FILED 1120.29, 1902.

No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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10.739,231. Y PATENTED SEPT. 15, 190s.

\ W. sNBE. GOLD SEPARAT'OR.

APPL'IQATION FILED DBO.29, 1902. No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES- latented September 15, 1903.v

PATENT OFFICE.

THREE-FOURTHS TO JOHN A.

VANIA.

sNEE, E PITTSBUEG, PENNSYL- alarm-sliPARATOR.

SPECIFICATION ,forming part of Letters I-"atent No. 739,231, dated September 15, 1903. Application led December 29, 1902. Serial No. 137,035. (No model.)

The simple and novel construction em-l ployed by me in carrying out my inventionI is fully described and claimed in this speciiication and illustrated in the accompanying drawings', forming a part thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my complete apparatus set up in working order. Fig. 2 isaverticallongitudinalsection thereof. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the feed-rollers and guides.

Like numerals of reference designate like parts in the different views of the drawings.

The numeral 1 designates a suitable framework lsupporting a floor 2,upon which my im proved Crusher is mounted. This crnsheris designed to reduce the quartz to a fine powder and comprises, essentially, a base 3 and two crushing-rollers 4 and 5' of equal diameter. These crushing-.rollers are j ournaled in boxes 4a and 5, respectively, mounted on the base 3. The boxes 4avfor the roller 4 are adjustably mounted in guides o and are nory mally held against movement by a set-screw 7. By this means the coarseness of the crushed material is controlled. The roller 4 carries a gear 8, which meshes with a smaller gear 9 of about one-fourth the diameter ofthe gear 8, so that the rollers travel at different speeds and tend to polish or Hatten the grains of gold. A hopper l0 serves to hold a supply of ore to be crushed, and a spout 11 catches the ground material as it falls from between the rolls.

Located just below the spout 1l is an inclined plane 12, which may be slightly roughened, and mounted above this plane is a guide ore.

mouth 28iL and a reduced body 29.

13, parallel therewith, and a rubber 14 is mounted to slide between the guide and. the plane to serve to complete the grinding of the A wearstrip or shoe l5 is mounted in the guide 13 and is held by adjusting-screws 16, by means of which the pressure of the rubber 14 on the plane 12 may be regulated. The rubber 14 is actuated by means of a rod 17,

connected at one end thereto and pivoted atits other end to the short arm-18ct an elbow-lever, the long arm 19 of which has a slot 19a formed therein, which is engaged by a crank-pin 2O, seated in a crank 2l, keyed on one of the spindles of the roller 5, the other spindle of which carries a fly-wheel 22, which is driven by a belt 23, which passes over a pulley 24,'

xed on a main driving-shaft 25, which is driven from some source of power. The dry groundv material runs down by gravity and' drops off of the lower end of the plane 12, where it is caught by a hoppery 26, fixed on the upper end of a spout 27, which extends tending into the lower end of the body 29 Vof the-separator and pointed. to direct a blast upwardly. The nozzle is supplied with a valve 34a to regulate the iiow of air which is supplied by a blower 35, which communicates-- with the nozzle 34 by means of a pipe 36. The

blower'35 is of ordinary construction but of large capacity. A screen 37 is mounted in the upper end of the mouth 28 of the separator; By the construction just described the powdered ore is directed toward the cone 30,which spreads the stream of crushed material'which I receives the impact of the air-blast from the nozzle 34, the force of which is regulatedto raise the light particles and forcev them through the screen 37 and to permit the heavy grains of gold to fall and run ont the lower end of the separator, which is curved to form a spout 29a.

In order to insure the complete separation ofthe precious metal, several additional separators 38, 39, 40, 4l, and 42, which are connected one to the other and separated by screens 37, through which the powdered material is forced by air-blasts issuing from nozzles 34, connected to the pipe 36 and provided with valves 34, which serve to regulate the force of the blast through the nozzles 34. A discharge-chute 43 is connected to the last separator 42 of the series and has an elbow 44 therein, within which a trap 45 is mounted to catch and retain any heavy goldbearing material which has iioated over and passed through the screens 37 of the separators. The material caught by the trap can be removed through a sliding bottom 46, mounted in suitable guides and normally secured against withdrawal by suitable means.

In operation the ore is lirst reduced to manageable size before being placedin the hopper 10, from whence it passes down through the rollers 4 and 5, which are driven at different speeds to free the particles of gold from the base materials, so that they will have greater specific gravity and be more easily separated from the sand. The action of the rubber 14 will still further reduce the size of the base material and also clean the gold. The cone 30 will spread the stream out thin and enable the blast ot' air to easily oat the light material, which will ascend and pass out through the screen 37. The blasts issuing from the other nozzle 34 in the separators are graduated by means ot' the valves 34, the force of the blast in the first separator 38 being the greatest. That in the separator 38 is a little l'ess and so on down to the last separator 42, which has the weakest blast of all. The force of the blast used will vary with the coarseness of the gold. The most ot' the gold will be recovered by the first separator 28, while the others will receive tine gold or gold-bear ing sulfur-ets or even baser metal depending on the force of the air-.blasts employed. The number of separators may be varied at pleasure and a greater or less number than shown may be employed, depending on the material to be separated.

I do not wish to be limited as to details of construction, as these may be modified in many particulars without departing from the spirit of my invention.

While I have specically mentioned granan opening in the side walls of said hoppershaped portion,afeed-spoutextendingintothe said upper portion of said casing to a point below the bottom of said screen, and a nozzle extending into said reduced portion and in alinement with said feed-spout to direct a blast of air against the powdered ore entering through said spout, substantially as described.

2. In a pneumatic separator, the combination of a separator or casing comprising a closed hopper-shaped mouth and a reduced body open at its lower end to form a spout, a screen mounted i-n an aperture in said casing, a spout extending into said mouth, a cone mounted opposite the lower end of said spout and bearing a stem carrying a fan, and a nozzle extending into .said reduced body and directed toward said fan to drive it to break up the stream issuing from said nozzle to float the lighter particles and force them through said screen, substantially as de scribed.

t 3. In a pneumatic separator, the combination of a casing, a screen mounted in an aperture in the walls of said casing, a spout extending into said casing and extending down to a point below said screen, a fan mounted below the lower end of said spout, and a nozzle mounted to direct a blast of air against said fan to break up the stream of ground material and float all but the heavy grains and drive them through said screen, substantiall y as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of t-wo subscribing Wit- WILLIAM SNEE. lVitnesses:

BENNETT S. JoNEs, FRANK G. RADELFINGER. 

